Despite spending over £100m on full-backs over the summer, Manchester City are somehow finding themselves in a situation where they are having to use Fabian Delph down the left-hand side of their defence.
Of course, Benjamin Mendy’s injury wasn’t planned, and it hasn’t exactly hindered them as they currently sport an 11 point lead over rivals Manchester United in the Premier League, yet they aren’t done with the defensive purchases.
A centre-back is very likely to arrive in January, and Il Mattino in Italy reckon Pep Guardiola is ready to spend another €50m or so on a left-back come the summer.
The target is Faouzi Ghoulam, in whom Manchester City were interested in prior to his injury and subsequent contract renewal, who is currently sidelined for most of the rest of the season, but he should be fit as a fiddle for a transfer in June.
Il Mattino state a number of foreign clubs, including the Premier League leaders, are after him, and while he’s tied to the club until 2022, his release clause, which varies depending on the interested side, would be around €50m for Pep Guardiola.
As the Italian newspaper put, ‘Manchester City’s sheikh isn’t the kind of man to back away from such a number’, and there’s some kind of acceptance the Algeria international might leave in the summer.
